The following references and other information are pertinent to the background of the invention:
WO 98/49177 describes a class of nucleoside analogues demonstrating anti-viral properties. A representative of the compounds disclosed in WO 98/49177 is 3-(2-deoxy-β-D-ribofuranosyl)-6-decyl-2,3-dihydrofuro [2,3-d]pyrimidin-2-one.
“Acyclovir” is a compound known to have anti-viral properties. It is described in The Merck Index 12th Edition.
BVDU is (E)-5-(2-bromo-vinyl)-2′-deoxyuridine and is described in De Clercq et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., USA 1979, 76, 2947.
G. T. Crisp and B. L. Flynn, J. Org. Chem. 1993, 58, 6614 describes palladium catalyzed couplings of terminal alkynes with a variety of oxyuridines. One coupling described is that between 5-ethynyl-2-deoxyuridine and a range of fluorinated aryl compounds.
E. V. Malakhova et al. Bioorg. Khim. (1998), 24 (9), 688-695 describes reagents for introducing a fluorescent deoxyuridine 2-phenylbenzoxazole derivative into oligonucleotides.